Four days after Mississippi could have executed Michelle Byrom, the state Supreme Court threw out her conviction and ordered her a new trial.

In their two-page decision, justices acknowledged their decision was both rare and "extraordinary."

The ruling to reverse the case came after The Clarion-Ledger and others drew attention to the fact that Byrom’s son, Edward Jr., had repeatedly confessed to killing his father, Edward Sr., but jurors had never heard that evidence.

At Byrom’s 2000 capital murder trial, jurors never heard any of Junior’s confessions. Instead, they heard him testify she hired “hit man” Joey Gillis for $10,000 to $15,000 to kill Edward Sr.

The jury convicted Byrom of capital murder for this alleged murder-for-hire scheme. (Read more about the day of the killing by clicking here.)

Attorney General Jim Hood said he respects the state Supreme Court ruling, but wants a better explanation. (Read more about the decision by clicking here.)

"It is important that the trial court know and understand the specific errors that were found by the justices so that the lower court knows the best way to proceed," he said in a statement. "It is unusual for an appellate court to reverse and remand a case for a new trial without stating the reasons for the reversal.

"Our office will be filing a petition with the state Supreme Court seeking its reasoning for the reversal. That said, our citizens can once again take comfort in the fact that we have a legal system that works for all parties involved."

Corrections officials expect to transfer Byrom, 57, from Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, where she has been housed, to Tishomingo County, where the 1999 killing took place.

In 2009, Gillis walked free from prison, and he has since given the defense a sworn statement, saying he did not shoot Edward Byrom Sr.

In August, Junior was released from prison. Contacted by The Clarion-Ledger, he denied killing his father.

But after his mother's conviction, he wrote her this letter: “Do you remember the last question your attorney asked me? If I did it? Yes, I did, and Joey helped (in a way), but in so doing I released a chaotic chain of events that are still unraveling.”

Sentenced to death, Byrom had exhausted all of her state and federal appeals when her lawyers sought relief to block the state from executing her.

Monday’s decision illustrates “there’s a need to keep fighting for your client and not give up,” said Alan Freedman of the Midwest Center for Justice, who helped represent Byrom on appeal. “It’s never too late.”